The Connection

Neighbors on Hanson Street knew there was a problem between James Froman and Molly Gimmel. They could hear it from two houses away, the sound of Froman yelling at Gimmel. As their marriage was dissolving at the end of 2012, the fights became more frequent and louder. Froman became increasingly obsessed with military special forces, dressing in military uniform and spending hours at the firing range. Things spiraled out of control one December night in 2012 when he asked her to join him when he went to the shooting range so he could use her as target practice.

"His behavior has become very erratic lately, and he has become obsessed with guns and talks about them all the time," Gimmel wrote in an application for a protective order. "I also believe he has been taking steroids because his personality has been much more aggressive."

The couple divorced in 2013, and he moved out of the house on Hanson Street — a quiet cul-de-sac tucked away in a leafy part of the North Ridge neighborhood. Neighbors say they had not seen him in some time and assumed he was out of the picture. But this week, James Froman returned to Hanson Lane with guns, ammunition and explosives. A neighbor may have foiled his plans by discovering a backpack with a handgun stashed near the property line, calling the police and initiating a manhunt that brought a police helicopter from Fairfax County, an explosives unit from Arlington County and a dozens of Alexandria officers scrambling to track down Froman. The search ended near midnight when they discovered his body halfway down a hill in the heavily wooded backyard.

"We are still continuing the investigation," said Crystal Nosal, spokeswoman for the Alexandria Police Department.

COURT RECORDS show the two were married on June 30, 2004 in Arlington. He was a business development and management consultant for government contracting. She owned a government contracting firm. Property records show they bought the house in 2007. The two lived there for five years, tending to the garden and blending into the neighborhood. Neighbors described Froman as nice but odd.

"I knew there was something weird going on," said Bruce Miller, who lived two doors down. "We really questioned his rationality because he had these outbursts we could hear from time to time."

After things spiraled out of control in December 2012, Gimmel sought a protective order and began divorce proceedings. Court records show she accused him of a pattern of cruelty including verbal and emotional abuse, behavior that escalated in the final months of their marriage. Even after police told him to leave that December night, court records show, he continued to make threatening calls about jeopardizing her business. As the anniversary of their wedding and divorce approached, though, Froman returned to Hanson Lane with guns and explosives. Fortunately for neighbors on Hanson Lane, who were evacuated from their homes for several hours that night, Froman was the only one harmed and the explosives were detonated in a controlled environment by experts.

"Molly's father arrived as we were all standing around waiting for the police to let us back into our houses," said Miller. "He took her away."